


In You, I Find Rest

by SorrowsFlower



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kara Danvers Needs a Hug, Lena Luthor Doesn't Know Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, We all need a hug, mentions of Mon-El but it's not endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 06:43:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20756045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SorrowsFlower/pseuds/SorrowsFlower
Summary: Kara closes her eyes and rests her chin on Lena’s shoulder, wishing they could stay like this forever, pressed close to each other’s warmth. For a few seconds, they exist in a bubble of just the two of them, and it’s like Kara can forget everything else.She can almost forget that she’s still lying to this remarkable woman, her best friend - who is unfailingly good and kind, who loves Kara Danvers without knowing that she’s Supergirl. Can forget that she’s lost Lena’s faith, because she IS Supergirl, and that name is now poisoned with anger and mistrust for Lena.She can almost forget that there’s a part of her that Lena now hates.//Set around 3x19





	In You, I Find Rest

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this on [tumblr](https://missluthorwillseeyounow.tumblr.com/post/186448223848/rest-supercorp-fanfic) a while back, but I'm just now getting it here.
> 
> This is a one-shot set in season 3 (possibly around 3x19, after their argument in the lab but before Kara goes to Argo). I’m hazy on the timeline since I only ever watch Lena’s scenes.

It’s well into the night by the time Kara returns to L-Corp to check in on the situation with Reign. Lena is deep in the labs, working ceaselessly. 

Lena looks impeccable as always. Everything about her appearance is meticulously polished, and she looks every inch the powerhouse CEO.

As if she hasn’t been sleeplessly working herself to the bone to help Sam for the past few weeks. As if she hasn’t been pushing herself to her very human limits these past few days at the L-Corp labs and the DEO. As if the being who has taken over one of her closest friends hasn’t been trying to wear her down and making violent threats to her life and to the rest of the world, using Sam’s face and Sam’s voice to rub salt in the wound.

To anyone else, Lena looks as if she could not only walk into a boardroom full of rich executives any second, but slay every single misogynistic pig in a suit there. 

But Kara, who knows her the way she does, can practically feel Lena’s exhaustion from across the room.

The bags under her eyes are invisible, expertly covered by concealer – but the jade of Lena’s eyes are tired and lackluster, devoid of the mischievous sparkle that Kara so adores. Her posture is erect, almost militaristic, and her head held high – but Kara knows that by now, Lena is being held together mostly by her unrelenting stubbornness and the sheer force of her indomitable will.

Kara is in awe of her.

She can’t do anything for Lena as Supergirl, because right now, Lena doesn’t trust Supergirl. If their conversation in the elevator and Lena’s cold brush-off of Supergirl’s attempts at reconciliation is any indication, any attempt Kara makes as Supergirl to help will likely just make Lena more defensive and reluctant to accept help.

But she has to try.

Lena is standing in front of the barrier separating her from the Kryptonian that has somehow taken over their friend’s body. Reign is impossible to see beyond the lead barrier, and it strains Kara’s eyes to try and get a glimpse of her.

The green glow of Kryptonite is muted behind the barrier, and Kara approaches tentatively, testing both her reaction to the Kryptonite and Lena’s reaction to her presence.

Lena doesn’t see her at first. She’s staring at the Kryptonite too, her eyes dark and deep, as if she’s gone into a part of herself Kara can’t see. It’s only Kara’s sharp hearing the lets her catch Lena’s murmured words as she stares at the barrier.

_“I’m sorry, Sam. I should’ve – I didn’t mean for you to get hurt like this. You deserve better.”_

Kara knows the exact moment Lena realizes she’s there, because she tips her head unconsciously, almost unwillingly, in her direction. She doesn’t meet Kara’s gaze, but the dark in Lena’s eyes shifts outward, sharpening, laced with something almost like disdain. It makes Kara’s heart squeeze painfully in her chest.

“You shouldn’t be here, Supergirl. I can’t guarantee that the Kryptonite won’t penetrate the barrier.”

Said Kryptonite delivers less of a sting than Lena’s caustic tone, and Kara flinches slightly, but she doesn’t respond to it. The last thing their strained relationship needs is for Kara to rise to the bait.

Instead, she reaches out a tentative hand to touch Lena’s shoulder, stopping just before she makes physical contact, because she’s unsure how Lena will take it. Kara’s not sure Lena saw the small, uncertain movement, because Lena still isn’t looking at her, but at the barrier.

Kara drops her arm uselessly. She hates this. Hates being this uncertain toward Lena. All she wants right now is to put her arms around her friend and give her a safe space where she can rest, let the exhaustion seep out from her bones until she’s just soft and vulnerable, the way Lena always is with Kara.

She hates that now, she can’t even touch Lena’s arm because Lena doesn’t trust her. Not _Supergirl_ her. Her arm flops limply to her side, and she gives the other woman a small, hesitant smile.

“You should get some rest.”

Lena doesn’t even look at her. The only answer Supergirl gets is a curt “I’m fine.”

Kara sighs. “Lena, we’ve been at this for days. And you’ve been working with Sam for weeks. You need to rest. When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep?”

At this, Lena finally looks at her, but Kara thinks that’s worse, because her eyes are so cold and sharp, it sends a bolt of ice straight through Kara’s heart. It’s a look Lena reserves for her enemies, and Kara has _never_ been on the receiving end of such a look from her.

“I said I’m _fine_, Supergirl. I don’t need rest. What I need is for my friend to be alright. What I need is to stop Reign from trying to annihilate the world and everyone in it. What I need is to give Ruby her mother back. _That_ is the only way I’ll get a good night’s sleep.” Lena’s voice is barely above a whisper, but it cuts through Kara effortlessly like a knife. “So while I appreciate the concern, it’s unnecessary, and it only detracts from the work I could be doing instead of talking to you.”

Kara can feel the tears pricking the backs of her eyes, and it takes tremendous effort not to let them fall. She’s seen firsthand how ruthless Lena can be, the cold power she wields when she takes someone apart with just her words and her perceptive mind. She knows how well Lena can strike at someone else’s weak points and use it to hurt them. Lena knows which tactics are most effective to take down her enemies, and Kara’s always been proud of her friend’s brilliance at putting them in their place. She’s seen Lena do it often enough with entitled businessmen and vindictive naysayers.

But it’s never been directed at_ her_.

The coldness with which Lena deals with her is deliberate and cutting, as she knows Lena means it to be. But it still doesn’t negate the hurt in Kara’s chest, so she nods curtly and makes a hasty exit with nothing more than a murmured “I’ll leave you to it. Good night, Miss Luthor.”

Kara waits until she’s out of Lena’s sight before pulling out her phone. She almost doesn’t want to do it. The sting in her chest from Lena’s cold words and demeanor almost stops her.

But she thinks of the darkness in her friend’s eyes, the exhaustion in her frame that she refuses to show to anyone else, the guilt that’s eating away at her that’s a perfect companion to the guilt eating away at Kara whenever she thinks of Sam.

Lena is hurt, and guilty, and exhausted. She needs help. And maybe Supergirl can’t help her, but Kara Danvers can.

Trying to calm her breathing, Kara pulls up Lena’s number from her contacts and calls her, waiting nervously for Lena to answer.

“Kara?” Lena’s voice is already lighter and a great deal warmer when she answers. The stark difference makes Kara’s chest twinge painfully.

“Lena, h-hi!” She struggles to find the usual cheer in her voice to cover her trepidation. She’s Kara Danvers, and Lena is never cold with Kara Danvers, even if she is cold to Supergirl. There’s no reason for her nervousness. “I just handed in my article to Snapper, and I’m getting off work. I’ve been thinking about you lately. We haven’t seen each other as often as we used to. If you’re free, we should have a girls’ night tonight.”

On the other end of the line, Lena hesitates. From around the corner, Kara can hear her tapping away at her computer in the lab, and she almost wants to change into her civilian clothes and go to her in there. “I - Kara, I have a lot of work I need to do, with Sam and….”

“Please, Lena? I really miss my best friend.” It’s not hard for Kara to let a genuinely plaintive note enter her voice, because it’s the truth. She _does_ miss her best friend. “I’ve got that wine you like so much, and we can make a nest on my couch.”

She hears Lena sigh on the other end, the weariness in her voice evident for the first time tonight. She can almost hear Lena’s smile. “Alright. Let me just finish things here. I’ll see you in twenty.”

“Great!” Kara smiles too, already feeling warmer and lighter. “See ya!”

She hangs up and speeds out of L-Corp back into her apartment, readying everything for Lena’s arrival – Lena’s favorite wine that she keeps in her fridge, the nest of fluffy pillows and blankets that is a requirement for their girls’ nights, and her softest pair of pajamas that Lena loves to borrow whenever she sleeps over. 

Twenty minutes later, almost to the second, Kara hears the thrum of Lena’s heartbeat and the tread of her footsteps in the hallway outside, followed a soft knock on her apartment door.

Kara opens the door with a shaky exhale to find Lena standing there. She’s still in the same clothes she was wearing in the lab, but those are the only remnants of that conversation. Lena’s eyes are brighter, her face so much softer, and her voice is warm when she breathes out her name.

_“Kara.”_

There’s a bittersweet blend of emotions churning through Kara as she wraps her arms around her friend, with Lena all but melting into her, the rigid posture from before slipping slowly as she molds herself around Kara.

It hurts like a new wound, because she still remembers Lena’s cold words to her this evening, and it hurts like an old scar, because she’s still lying to her best friend, and Lena doesn’t even _know_ she’s hurt Kara. 

At the same time, there’s an overwhelming sense of relief, because it’s _Lena_ – her best friend in the entire universe, second only to Alex in Kara’s heart – and it’s been so long since they’ve really held each other like this.

Kara closes her eyes and rests her chin on Lena’s shoulder, wishing they could stay like this forever, pressed close to each other’s warmth. For a few seconds, they exist in a bubble of just the two of them, and it’s like Kara can forget everything else.

Can forget that their friend is a Worldkiller. Can forget that the man she loved and mourned for has returned after she’d almost accepted that she would never see him again. Can forget that he’s married to a kind and beautiful woman who seems devoted to him. Can forget that outside of this apartment there is a Kryptonian – a Kryptonian stronger than Kara herself – bent on destroying the planet that Kara has come to love as her own.

When they’re like this, Kara can almost forget that she’s still lying to this remarkable woman, who is unfailingly good and kind and who loves Kara Danvers without knowing that she’s Supergirl. Can forget that she’s lost Lena’s faith, because she _is_ Supergirl, and that name is now poisoned with anger and mistrust for Lena. She can almost forget that there’s a part of her that Lena now hates.

Eventually, they part before the embrace becomes longer than propriety requires, and Lena is the first to pull back. As she does, Kara meets her eyes, and her breath catches a little in her throat, because Lena’s gaze looks searchingly into hers – as if she’s looking for something in Kara, and it prompts a certain kind of trepidation in her, a fear that Lena might not find what she’s looking for – or worse, that she might find it – and turn away.

Lena’s brow furrows, and her piercing gaze contains far too much pain than should be there, and Kara hates that she’s part of the reason that pain is there to begin with, because of the things she’s said and done as Supergirl.

Kara thinks they both know this is far too long for one friend to be staring at another, but she can’t look away. So instead, she reaches up and tucks an imaginary strand of hair behind Lena’s ear, just to have a little more physical contact. She’s always been a tactile person, and she thinks both of them need that right now.

“You look tired.”

Kara murmurs it into the space between them – the same sentiment she had expressed as Supergirl, this time delivered by Kara Danvers, and she hopes – Rao, she _hopes_ – that Lena will accept it this time.

Lena’s eyes are deep, so deep Kara feels she might drown in them if Lena keeps staring at her like that. 

Sometimes Lena’s eyes remind her of the lakes in the planet of Winath. She’d seen them once on a trip with her father -- the lake was so clear and deceptively translucent, inviting her to dive in, only to find herself submerged into hidden, unknown depths, with the water closing in over her head.

Kara holds her breath. She feels that way now, except this near-drowning burns her lungs in an almost delicious way as she stares into her friend’s translucent eyes, waiting for an answer.

“I am.” Lena breaks their held gaze first, exhaling, her voice soft and vulnerable. So different from their earlier conversation. “I am tired, Kara.”

And Kara breathes again.

Because she might not have Lena’s trust as Supergirl anymore, but she still has her trust as Kara Danvers.

She pulls away from Lena, but not completely, leaving them both joined at the hands. She tugs Lena over to the couch, which is smothered in blankets. Lena hesitates only a little before she takes off her high heels, and accepts Kara’s comfy pajamas.

It takes less than ten minutes for Lena to change and Kara to get everything ready for them. The bathroom door opens and Kara smiles as Lena reappears, her face devoid of makeup, her shoulders relaxed and her hair free of its chignon, falling in loose waves around her shoulders.

She looks so _soft_, a stark contrast to her rigid posture from before, and it makes Kara’s heart twinge to know that she’s still allowed to see Lena like this.

She scoots over to make room for her on the couch, and Lena all but crawls into the little cocoon beside her. She hears Lena’s breathy sigh as she slips under a blanket beside Kara, who takes advantage and pulls the other woman down, so that her head is on Kara’s lap.

At first, Lena stiffens, but when Kara starts to card her fingers through her hair, she relaxes with a small, barely audible moan. Kara blinks and feels her cheeks turn a little warm at the sound, but she resumes her gentle stroking of Lena’s hair until Lena relaxes and goes positively boneless against her.

Their position reminds Kara of their first girls’ night after the Daxamite invasion. The first they’d had since she had sent Mon-El away into the vast unknown of space.

Kara remembers how messed up she’d been, how she hadn’t been able to sleep for weeks and weeks, because all she saw when she closed her eyes was Mon-El, lost and terrified in the black abyss she had abandoned him to. The same black abyss Kara had been trapped in for twenty-four years.

She hadn’t wanted to go to girls’ night then. Girls’ night was something Kara Danvers did, and at that time, she’d had very little inclination to be Kara Danvers anymore.

But Lena had been there, patient and understanding, comforting in her presence. Unwilling to let Kara drown in the maelstrom of emotions that had been threatening to engulf her. But at the same time, unwilling to take any of Kara’s crap. She smiles as she remembers Lena calling her out on her behavior at CatCo.

That had been the first girls’ night they’d had in months. Kara had slumped over on the couch, physically and emotionally exhausted, and Lena had let her lay her head in her lap for the rest of the night. That had been the first good night’s sleep she’d had in months. She’d woken up, feeling more like Kara Danvers again, and she’d realized that wasn’t a bad thing.

It’s funny, because now it’s almost the exact opposite of what happened with Mon-El.

With Mon-El, she had rejected Kara Danvers for Supergirl. But with Lena now, she puts down Supergirl for a night in favor of Kara Danvers. 

Because Supergirl isn’t Lena’s best friend, and Lena doesn’t trust Supergirl right now, but she lets herself be soft, lets herself be tired and human around Kara Danvers. And she lets Kara Danvers be soft and tired and _human_ around her.

And if that means Kara can give this woman she loves so dearly a night of rest and peace, then it will be worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think!  
Also, come yell at me on my SC trash blog [@missluthorwillseeyounow](https://missluthorwillseeyounow.tumblr.com)  
or my main [@sorrowsflower](https://sorrowsflower.tumblr.com/)


End file.
